


Counting Stars

by willowcabins



Category: Lost Girl
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Space, F/F, SPACE IS IMPORTANT OKAY, Space Pirates, Spaceships, idk what else can i tag other than space
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2017-12-27 22:13:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/984212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/willowcabins/pseuds/willowcabins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bo, the unaligned bounty hunter is hired to find Doctor Lauren Lewis, escaped captive of the Light. Space-adventures ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ready or Not

**Author's Note:**

> RIGHT hello there this is Chapter 1 of my Lost Girl Space AU, dedicated to tumblr users carlygrieg, doctor-lewis and laurendennis (my personal lost girls (hahah get it (dont shoot me okay))) who are all awesome and beautiful and perfect. also special thanks to mygodyourebeautiful for her amazing proof-reading skillz. ANYWAY comments and reviews are, as always, appreciated.

“I think we should disappear for a while,” Kenzi murmured as they walked through the bustling market town back to their ship. Cleopatra, the largest and only city on the moon of Kayro was electric with tensions. Every person on the street wore their colour of allegiance, and the fact that Bo and Kenzi adorned neither was noticed. People stared at them and Bo’s skin crawled with all the stares.

“We sort of can’t,” Bo hissed in response.

“What do you mean?!” Kenzi demanded, ducking forward and letting her hair hide her face as a group of men jostled her. Bo grabbed her arm and urged her to walk faster.

“We _need_ to pay Ryan for the repairs and I know Cora’s generous, but she _will_ expect money for the gas she’s currently pouring into our ship.”

“Ryan already waited a month. He can wait another month,” Kenzi brushed off the concern. Bo made a face.

“What about Cora?”

“Credit?” Kenzi offered with a hopeful smile as she stepped slightly behind Bo to avoid the group of unruly Gladiators walking down the middle of the street.

“Would you give _us_ credit?” Bo asked, incredulous, ducking by the hulking men.

“No,” Kenzi admitted, biting her lip. “Though you could always try and convince her…”

“Cora?! Really?!”

“Oh fine, perhaps not…” Kenzi sighed and glanced up at Bo in concern. “Where are we going then?” She asked, glancing towards the docks where their ship was parked.

“Vex’s.” Bo replied, dread evident in her voice as she sidestepped out of the busy walkway into one of the many narrow roofed alleyways of the shanty town.

“Vex’s?” Kenzi perked up. “Okay, perhaps this won’t be that bad then!” Bo sighed at her friend’s cautious optimism and dragged her to Vex’s shack.

 

Vex was decked in only his aligned Purples: a sight that didn’t surprise Bo, but somehow still shocked Kenzi. He frowned at the two women as his henchmen allowed them to enter. He looked at their black garb with a sigh and shook his head.

“Still not aligned?” He asked in exasperation. Bo rolled her eyes.

“Never,” she reaffirmed. Vex sighed dramatically and waved the bodyguards out of the room, turning to Kenzi with a slight smile on his lips once the men had left.

“Still alive, puny human?” Kenzi smirked.

“Of course!” She joked, twirling once and bowing dramatically. Vex chuckled.

“You know, you could leave your dangerous succubus and stay with me instead,” Vex offered, sitting down in his chair and elegantly landing his polished boots on the edge of his desk. Kenzi smirked.

“Only if you give me those boots,” she bargained. Vex shrank back, scandalized.

“These boots?” He huffed. “These boots are the most precious item I own!” Kenzi chuckled and shook her head. Vex was a stark anomaly in his shanty town on a desert moon: his polished boots and long purple velvet cloak were incongruous with the climate and even more ill-fitting with the populous. Although Cleopatra advertised itself as a _Neutral_ town, the rising tensions in the senate over the last year had reflected themselves in the community, where the colour of alliance, once subtle markers on clothing, suddenly became _all_ that the inhabitants of Kayro seemed to be sporting.

“Well, then I’m sticking to my rebel,” Kenzi teased, looping her arm through Bo’s. Bo sighed and stepped forward, opening her mouth to speak. Vex interrupted her curtly.

“These are dangerous times to be a rebel, and even more dangerous to side with a rebel. Heed what you ask of me.” Sometimes it was hard to forget that Vex was several centuries old, but when his cold stare cut through Bo, she was reminded age and wisdom made him her senior. She bristled under the comment and snapped a response.

“It’s always a bad time to be a rebel,” she disagreed, glare icy. Vex smiled.

“And now it’s worse for me. Bad for business, you know.” Bo shook her head.

“I know how to operate in this town, Mesmer.” She was getting frustrated with him.

“You k _new_ how to operate in this town. Times are changing, my unaligned succubus.”

“I can change with them.”

“Can you really?” Vex didn’t look convinced. Kenzi crossed her arms.

“We’re here for a job, Vex, not to chitchat.”

“Right down to business then?” He asked. “Did anyone see you enter?”

“No,” Kenzi sighed replied reflexivity. Vex glanced at her and then shrugged, approaching Bo slowly.

“Right, succubus. I have something for you.” He put his hand into his breast pocket, and for an absurd second Bo thought he would pull out a gun, ending her on this sad little moon, penniless and begging. An unbecoming way to die, she thought. Instead, he pulled out an envelope, thick with cash. “There’s this doctor. This little human doctor who used to work for the light, but now doesn’t anymore. Someone wants her, but I don’t like getting my hands dirty.”

“Who’s someone?” Bo asked, trying to maintain aloof and cool as she could practically _feel_ Kenzi salivating at the sight of the cash.

“Am I paying you to ask questions?” Vex cocked his head. Bo bit her lips. She glanced at Kenzi, who nodded fervently. “This is a strictly confidential mission, ladies.”

“How much _are_ you paying?” Bo asked, not looking at the money. Vex smirked.

“More than this,” he replied, grabbing Kenzi’s wrist and carefully putting the cash into her outstretched hand, delicately folding her fingers over the wad of credits. “If you’re here within the next fortnight, then double that,” he began. “If not, then there are many other criminals down on their luck I could solicit.”

“Criminals?” Kenzi crossed her arms, huffing. “We’re _legitimate business women_ ,” she corrected. Vex rolled his eyes, turning back to Bo.

“Do we have an accord, succubus?” Bo sighed.

“We do,” she sighed, snatching the money out of his hands and handing it to Kenzi to count. “What were our friend’s last known coordinates?”

“Last seen on Alexandria. I’ll have my people forward the information to your people.” Vex chucked the phrases behind him as he strolled back to his desk, running his hand along the luxurious wood with a smirk. “I expect you to leave soon.” When he looked up and they were still there, exchanging a confused glance, he sighed. “Leave now please,” he snapped, accompanying hand motions making his intentions and desires for solitude very clear. They left, quickly and efficiently.

Back in the busy street, Kenzi glanced up at Bo, squinting against the powerful rays of the two suns in the sky. “Why did you hesitate?” She asked, tilting her head. Bo frowned.

“She’s human. I was worried you might feel some solidarity towards your race!” Kenzi laughed.

“Race-schmace!” She shielded her eyes with her hand so better to look at Bo. “Did you see that money? Means we can finally _actually_ repair the ship, and perhaps even buy a new one?”

“A new ship?” Bo looked aghast. “Are you trying to _get rid of_ the crack shack?!”

“Well, that sounds forceful, it’s just you know…”

“She’s our _ship_ Kenzi!

“Whatever, the captain’s cabin is the nicest one anyway,” Kenzi huffed. “My room isn’t half as luxurious.”

“I need the space!”

“For your little conquests, I know, I _know_.” Kenzi rolled her eyes and smiled as she caught sight of their ship at the edge of the port. “Oh look!” She grinned. “Trick’s there!” Kenzi picked up her pace to a gentle jog, running up behind Trick to pat him on the left shoulder and then to quickly stand on his right. The old man immediately looked right and grinned.

“I’m too old to be fooled by such child’s play, Kenzi,” he chastised. Kenzi grinned.

“It was worth a try,” she smirked, enveloping the little man into a hug. Bo just smiled at him.

“Is she flyable?” She asked, patting the side of the ship. Trick scoffed.

“Flyable? Your ship is scrappier than most of the scrap yard down on Atlantis.”

“Fine, let me reword. Is she dead?”

“Yes, don’t fly with her.” Kenzi cut off Bo’s exasperated sigh with a newly worded question.

“Will she lift off?” Trick muttered a quiet assent under his breath.

“Yes, she’ll lift off but she’ll fail you. She’s _failing apart_. You need to invest in some _serious_ repair! And I don’t mean illegally employing your grandfather and bartender to touch up some wires here and there. I mean, actually replacing your cooler?!”

“The cooler?” Bo brushed aside the concern with a relaxed wave. “You’ve said the cooler’s on its last leg for years!”

“And it still is!”

“And yet we’re still here.” Bo crossed her arms triumphantly, smirking as she leaned against the warm metal of the machine. Trick rubbed his eyes in frustration, looking up at Kenzi, pleading.

“You need to change your stabilizers.”

“No we don’t!” Dyson called from the hold of the ship. Kenzi tilted her head and glanced inside, surprised to see the wolf man underneath one of the turbines.

“We don’t?” She asked, stepping from the sunlight into the relative shadow of the hold and addressing his toned legs. Dyson pushed himself out from under the turbine.

“No, we don’t,” he repeated, grinning. “I figured out a way to use one of Tamsin’s screws as a conductor, so I’ve connected the broken bit of the string to the screw with some of the wires that Trick lent us, and so now it’s all fixed.”

“It was _my_ idea,” Tamsin clarified, looking down at the two in the hold from her perch on the balcony.

“But I _actually_ did it,” Dyson agreed with a light grin. Tamsin rolled her eyes and fixed Kenzi with a penetrating stare.

“Are we leaving yet? I _hate_ this town.”

“You hate this town?! At least people aren’t looking you up and down like they’re going to eat you,” Kenzi whined, crossing her arms. She glanced out into the sunlight and shrunk back slightly, shaking her head. She glanced back up at Tamsin and realised she was still waiting for a response. “Oh, yeah I think we’re leaving soon. I just need to check we have the coordinates of our next destination.”

“We got a job?” Dyson perked up. Kenzi made a face.

“Well, _sort of_. Bo will explain.”

“What do you mean, “sort of”?” Tamsin crossed her arms and widened her stance, immediately intimidating Kenzi, who stepped into Dyson’s space, almost as if to put the stockier man as a shield between herself as Tamsin.

“Bo will explain?” Kenzi repeated. Bo’s voice suddenly cut through the hanger as she entered, followed by an entreating Trick.

“Literally the _only_ thing in this ship that doesn’t make me want to scrap it right now is your gravity drive, Bo! The _only_ thing!”

“Well, that’s a plus! When we die at least we’ll die the right way up!” Kenzi grinned between granddaughter and father, and then swallowed apprehensively as neither of their gazes softened. “Or perhaps not…”

“Either way, you’ll _die_ because of this ship,” Trick explained, gesticulating around himself.

“Yes! Fine! I know, my ship’s not the _best_ ship, but she’s still got some life in her yet!”

“Yes! You! This is a death trap Bo and I refuse to let you fly her.”

“Refuse?” Bo’s eyes sparkled and Kenzi backed behind Dyson, whispering a quiet “uh oh” as the conflict in front of her unfurled. “You can _not_ tell me what to do, old man!” She looked like she was going to say more, but decided instead to fix Trick with one last, angry glare before she hurried up the stairs, taking two at a time and ducking behind Tamsin, who watched the whole exchange from her high perch. A small smirk played on her lips. Trick made to follow Bo, but Dyson stopped him by laying a gentle hand on Trick’s chest.

“She’s tense right now, Trick. All this “chose a side” discussion has really put her on edge. You can talk to her again about buying a new ship when we come back from this mission.”

“Yeah!” Kenzi agreed. “This mission’s meant to be _lucrative_ too.”

“Lucrative?” Trick’s brow furrowed as he looked around the hold. “You seem to have no cargo.”

“Yet,” Kenzi agreed, evasively. Three pairs immediately honed in on Kenzi as she realised her mistake and tried to hide behind Dyson again.

“Yet?”

“Fuck.”

 

“This deal is not legal?” Tamsin was the first to stride into the cockpit, voice betraying none of the excitement that she felt. Bo glanced behind her, watching her crew mates (and Trick) file into the cockpit and sighed.

“It’s a gold mine,” she said simply by way of evasion, projecting the image from her tablet onto the windscreen. DOCTOR LAUREN LEWIS, it read in capitals across the top, under which a picture portrayed a short haired blond. Under the thumbnail picture, there was some more text in caps. WANTED, ALIVE.

“I like her,” Tamsin decided. “She looks fun.”

“She looks _dangerous_ ,” Dyson corrected.

“Dangerous?” Tamsin snorted. “She’s _human_ , wolf-boy.”

“But smart, if she’s evaded the Dark long enough to look to Bo for help,” Trick added quietly. He crossed his arms. “This isn’t a good idea, Bo.”

“Why?” Bo narrowed her eyes at him. “An innocent soul I should preserve and keep away from the dark?” She asked, mockingly.

“No. A political reason. This woman, this _doctor_ , used to work for the Light. She’s caught in the middle of the web that the Dark and the Light have spun for each other, and this hunt for her might leave you ensnared.” Bo bit her lip. That _was_ good advice. She glanced at the poster again.

“We _need_ the money,” murmured quietly. Trick laughed humorlessly.

“Of course you do,” he muttered, walking out of the cockpit. Bo bit her lip, frustrated. Tamsin rolled her eyes.

“I say we _go_ ,” she sighed, exasperated. Kenzi nodded.

“Not often I agree with our favorite Valkyrie, but I’m saying the sooner the better,” she chimed in. Bo glanced at Dyson, who in turn shrugged.

“You’re the captain,” he said, deferring the decision to her. Bo glanced at the picture on her screen and shook her head.

“We take this job and then we _disappear_ ,” she decided. Kenzi smirked triumphantly.

“Good plan,” she agreed. “Dyson, go settle our debts. Let’s be ready to leave in an hour.”

“On it, boss,” Dyson agreed, catching the purse Bo threw at him and jogging out the cockpit cheerfully.

 

 

 

Hopelessness isn’t enslavement; hopelessness isn’t entrapment. Hopelessness is an inability to see the light, an edge of insanity to a disposition too long suffering at the whims of her captors.

Dr. Lauren Lewis, earth born and raised, absently scratching into the wall of her dungeon was hopeless. The material wasn’t rock the way Lauren knew rock: earth rock was minerals and smelt earthy and was smooth to touch. Earth prisons were built with it, but this wasn’t earth.

Lauren laughed quietly. As if she would ever forget.

Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn’t even trace her fingernails down the thin crack that days of scratching her finger in one straight line had created. Lauren took a deep breath and pushed against the wall.  It was almost as if she expected the wall to collapse together like a house of cards. It didn’t. As if that small thin scratch could have caused enough structural damage to topple it.

Lauren held her breath and shut her eyes, desperately willing herself out of this situation, willing herself _somewhere else_. Anything was better than this.

She woke up, cramped on the uncomfortable pallet that the owner of the hovel (which Lauren believed was also a brothel) assured her was a bed. Gasping for breath, she sat up, slamming her head against a protruding headboard and immediately lying back down again, biting back an exclamation of pain.

Her head hurt and her skin crawled, hot and uncomfortable in the stuffy, airless room. She blinked, _hard_ , trying to gain clarity. She needed to be calm and strong and _collected_ if she wanted to survive today.

If she wanted to survive _any_ day, really.

She climbed out of “bed” slowly, her joints stiff. She stretched, reaching for the ceiling and touching it, quickly drawing her hand back from the moist plant growing up there. Atlantis was a wet, humid planet. Despite the fact its capital city was built on the driest island, it was still damp and sodden and the thick heat had settled heavily on Lauren’s bones, stifling her in her tiny room. With an arduous slowness Lauren pulled her coat off the bed, where it served as protection against the yellow, unwashed bed sheets.

Atlantis was well known for its large population of ex-military, thus making it an easy place for Lauren to disappear in. It also made it an _awful_ place for Lauren to disappear in. She sighed heavily and then donned the large over coat, putting up the hood to hide her face as she crept out of the room, hoping no one would notice the lone human wearing a large bulky coat in the summer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tamsin finds a lead; Lauren finds a safe place to hide.

They began raising the cargo entrance the second Tamsin came into sight, jogging along the landing track and easily hopping the gap between the tarmac and the rising platform.

“ _Please_ tell me you have something,” Kenzi pleaded, standing at the top of the cargo deck and looking down at Tamsin. Tamsin brushed dust off her blazer and grinned up at Kenzi, her cockiness interrupted as she ship’s take off began in earnest, making her grab for the railing of the steps.

“Of _course_ I do,” she sighed, regaining her composure.

“Thank _god_ : we can’t leave this hell hole fast enough.” Kenzi directed the last part of the exclamation down the corridor to the cockpit. Tamsin rolled her eyes.

“Is there _any_ city you enjoy?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. Kenzi frowned.

“Yeah!” She protested. “One or two,” she conceded, as Tamsin raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

“Whatever.” Tamsin waited patiently as the ship cleared the atmosphere before she braved the walk to the cockpit.

“You got something for us?” Bo asked, titling her head. Tamsin leaned on Bo’s chair and looked over her head at the edge of the planet that they were leaving behind. Tunis was one of the smaller planets and its ground was marshy and completely uninhabitable, which is why it’s only two cities were huge cities suspended in the sky. The two cities, named (very cleverly) Sky #1 and Sky #2 were almost completely controlled by the Dark these days, making it an unsafe place for Dyson. It was also a “disgusting” place in Kenzi’s opinion, who was terrified of the science that “claimed” the city would remain elevated.

“I just _don’t_ wanna be the straw that broke the camel’s back, you know?” Kenzi had claimed, loudly waving her arms around. Bo had shook her head.

“Are you okay to do this on your own?” She’d asked, uncertain. Tamsin had smirked.

“ _More_ than happy.”

“Of course I have things for you,” Tamsin told Bo, running a hand through Bo’s hair. Bo leaned into the casual touch.

“Can you tell me the thing?” Dyson asked, raising an eyebrow at Tamsin. Tamsin left Bo’s side, to Bo’s unhappiness (expressed in the cutest pout) and pulled up her sleeve.

“Warner was able to get me her last known coordinates.” Dyson titled his head at the numbers scrawled across Tamsin’s skin.

“Atlantis?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. “A strange place to hide for a human. Are you sure this information is correct?”

“I saved Warner’s skin a few years back. He owes me this. It’s legit.”

“You know what they say about honor among thieves,” Dyson commented, wry smile pulling at his lips.

“Amen to that,” Kenzi chimed in from the entrance. Tamsin gave Kenzi and incredulous look.

“I don’t think _you_ , of all people, can talk.” Bo put her hand on Tamsin’s hand, a calm reminder to be cordial.

“Play nice, Tamsin.” Bo chided. “Kenzi’s nervous because she doesn’t like hunting.”

“Hey! What! No! That’s not true at all! I really like hunting! It’s just…” Kenzi floundered for words. “Difficult?” She offered. “More difficult than I expected.”

“The Dark would _not_ have hired us if the only thing we had to do was order her like some cheap coffee,” Tamsin sneered. Bo tightened her grip on her hand. Tamsin sighed in exasperation. “But I suppose you weren’t to know this.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re _human_ , Kenzi.”

“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Kenzi huffed, crossing her arms moodily. Dyson shot Tamsin a dark look.

“That was low,” he murmured. She rolled her eyes.

“Low? It’s _true_! She’s human, and so she just doesn’t understand some things!”

“Things like how hard it is to be a bounty hunter?” Kenzi laughed, dryly. “Yes, of course, that knowledge is privilege to only fae like you.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Good.” Kenzi turned around and left, tapping down gangway with measured footsteps that eerily reminded Bo of a cat. Dyson sighed.

“Just tell me where I’m going, Tamsin,” he snapped, annoyed at her treatment of Kenzi. Tamsin glared at him.

“Don’t look at me like that! That wasn’t my fault!” Dyson’s expression didn’t change.

“Direction,” Bo repeated. Tamsin growled and slammed down a note on the control panel, ignoring Bo’s outstretched hand defiantly.

“One of Warner’s contacts heard of a human woman hiding in the brothels of Atlantis. Some traders had their eye on her, but Warner sent out an alert that she’s ours, so we’ll get contacted if she moves from the town.”

“Contacted?” Dyson raised an eyebrow. Tamsin sighed.

“I’ll tune to the frequency and listen to the chatter. That’s how the underbelly are doing it right now, anyway.”

“Radio waves?” Dyson chuckled. “How delightfully old fashioned.”

“And inconvenient,” Bo sighed. “What happens when you sleep?”

“I don’t care.” She stalked off. Bo rolled her eyes and sighed. Dyson opened his mouth, but Bo’s eyes flew open to fix Dyson with a ready glare.

“If you’re about to say what I think you’re going to say about hormones then I’m going to kick you.” Dyson closed his mouth, confused, and gave Bo a genuinely surprised glance.

“I was going to say something else,” he explained, brow furrowed. Bo raised an eyebrow.

“What were you going to say?” She demanded, turning back to her star charts and quickly searching for the fastest route to Atlantis.

“I was talking to Hale earlier.” Bo looked up, surprised.

“Hale? Isn’t he busy ruling Ithaca?” Dyson chuckled wryly, directing the ship around a small asteroid that floated by.

“That’s causing him more trouble than expected.” Bo scoffed. “Anyway, he was actually communicating with me because he has some information that you might like.”

“Information?” Bo glanced at Dyson and raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Information for the unaligned succubus?”

“Yes,” Dyson replied, narrowing his eyes at her. Bo looked back at the star charts, smirk playing on her lips.

“Do we endorse that kind of King-ly behaviour?” She asked, eyebrows raised at the stars. “I hear gossiping with the enemy isn’t good form…” Dyson sighed in exasperation.

“You’re not the enemy,” Dyson corrected wearily. “Anyway,” he continued loudly before Bo could interrupt him, “Hale’s in _line_ for kingship, but right now the Ash is still ruling, Bo. You should really know this about fae politics.”

“ _Light_ fae politics, Dyson,” Bo corrected icily. “And why? They have very little bearing on my life.”

“You’re deluding yourself, Bo. You will have to choose a side, eventually.” Bo growled at the statement and stared aggressive at the star charts so she didn’t snap at Dyson.

“Seriously? We’re having this conversation now?”

“Why not? Bo sighed loudly and rolled her eyes.

“Because right now, I am enjoying my freedom from restrictive interspace politics,” Bo snapped. Dyson shook his head.

“Except, right now, you’re deluding yourself. You’re tangling yourself in that web as much, or even more, than I am.”

“What web?” Bo was getting annoyed, so she turned away from Dyson again, this time adjusting the thrusters. “Stop being cryptic.” Dyson rolled his eyes.

“Bo, the girl we’re hunting? The human doctor? Yeah she is property of the Ash.” Bo’s head snapped around too fast: she narrowed her eyes at the wording Dyson had chosen.

“Property?” She repeated, confusion and anger tinging her voice.

“Unlike you, the rest of the galaxy still strongly believes in the notion of ownership of the weakest.” Bo scoffed. She didn’t know what annoyed her more: Dyson’s scathing tone, or the very notion itself.

“That’s because the rest of the galaxy are idiots. Anyway, humans aren’t the weakest.” Dyson raised an eyebrow belligerently. “They _clearly_ haven’t met Kenzi with a hangover.” Dyson chuckled but shook his head wryly.

“You know what I mean…” He dismissed her. Bo glared at Dyson and closed down the star chart systematically and slowly turned towards Dyson, attributing him her full attention.

“No, Dyson, I don’t.” Bo kept her voice even. “Explain this to me.” She gestured at the now dark screen which had had the doctor’s face on it only seconds ago. “Explain to me why a human is working for your Ash, and explain to me why she’s a doctor. Explain why the whole galaxy is out looking for.”

“It’s not the whole galaxy…”

“Dyson!” Dyson was getting angry too – he narrowed his eyes and the pupils seemed to dialate.

“I don’t know, Bo!” He snapped. She scoffed. “I really don’t! I’ve been travelling with you for three years now, which means I’m not exactly in the Light’s good graces.”

“Then stop defending them!” She stormed out of the cockpit, her hands shaking with anger. It was _stupid_ it was all so _stupid_. She wasn’t part of this binary – she was just

“I live the life _I chose_ ,” Bo whispered fiercely, reminding herself that

 

The blonde looked over the tablet and narrowed her eyes. Lauren swallowed and waited nervously for the scrutiny to end. “Your name is Amber?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Lauren muttered, looking at her feet awkwardly.

“And you’re a skunk fae?” She raised an eyebrow, surprised.

“Yes.” Lauren shifted her weight from one foot to another. The blonde, Crystal, laughed.

“How did you even _get_ here?” Lauren’s head snapped up, but she quickly realised the question was disbelieving and teasing, not interrogatory. Crystal continued: “Most of your ilk lives out in the swamp countries!” Lauren swallowed; her tongue felt heavy in her mouth.

“I got bored of the color green,” Lauren muttered lamely. Crystal chuckled.

“Green?” She looked around the bright white diner, and then outside to the wet, rainy, industrial streets of Pacific. “You won’t get to see any of that here, Princess.” She smiled wryly. Lauren gulped and nodded, staring at the checkered white and red floor again.

“That was the point,” she muttered.  Crystal was silent: Lauren tried again. “I needed to get away.”

“Well, away you did get. I’ll get Norbert to make you a name tag and you can start working tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. It was weird how much hope one word could encompass.

 

 


	3. I Spy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A chapter in which Bo and Tamsin chase leads while Kenzi and Dyson go find some good old fashioned pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah my first fic for lost girl au week! Go check out the tumblr dedicated to it! ANYWAY this is my belated christmas present to lauren I HOPE YOU LIKE IT <3

“What do you mean, you don’t know what I’m talking about?” Tamsin’s snarl was accompanied by a light press of the glittering silver knife to the young crook’s neck. The elf laughed and disappeared, materialising behind Tamsin; Bo grabbed him and held both of his hands still as Tamsin slowly turned around. Small droplets of his blood hung, dull and brown, on the weapon.

“You’re not getting away that easy, Trickster. Tell us what you know,” Bo snapped

“Knowledge is such a transient ideal…” he began, pulling at his hands, trying to get them out of Bo’s grasp. Tamsin punched him in the torso, hard. Bo heard a rib crack.

"I don't have much patience for your kind, today." Tamsin slowly rubbed her finger up and down the knife, spreading the elf’s blood over the tip carefully. "I was sent here by Darwin, who said that you would know something about the Light human doctor."

"See, that's where you're wrong -- I know nothing about any doctors!" He laughed nervously.

"No human doctors with an affiliation to the light light? Nothing ringing any bells?" Tamsin’s voice had a singsong quality to it.

"No! This town has had people come in and out, yes, but not a single human."

"No human _at all_?" Tamsin’s stressed the last part of the sentence as she conspiratorially looked down at the young man.

"Yes!” An incredulous, offended huff. He twisted to look at Bo. “Now let me go! I have business to attend to." Tamsin laughed and grabbed his jaw, nails digging into his cheek as she turned his face to look back at her.

"You're business is first and foremost with me." There was a more dangerous, low note in her tone.

"I've told you everything I know!"

"Have you, though? Have you really?" Tamsin presented the knife, now smeared with this brown blood. "There's a truth spell on this knife: your blood will turn red when you tell me the truth. Does this blood look red to you, Bo?” Bo scoffed.

“No. It’s almost _black_.”

“Exactly.” The elf gulped audibly. “So, trickster, let me repeat the question. What do you know about the light human doctor, Lauren Lewis?"

"Lauren Lewis? Well, now that you say her name I might know something," he stuttered, eyeing the knife warily.

"Oh, is it coming back to you?" Bo asked sarcastically.

"Well yes, I mean there is something..." He drew out the phrase, humming and staring into space theatrically. Bo was getting impatient. She twisted his arm, making him bend forward, yowling.

"Speak, filth," she snapped.

"Well yes one second I mean I'm no memory fae let me try and remember!" He yelped.

"Remember faster,” Bo threatened, “or else I'll start knocking out some of those useless brain cells of yours!" Tamsin snorted appreciatively.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! Yes well there _is_ a certain rumour going around about a skunk fae." Tamsin grabbed the young man’s hair and yanked him upwards, so she could hold eye contact with him.

"A what?" She demanded, incredulous.

"A skunk fae," he repeated.

"What the hell do we need that for?" Bo demanded, non-plussed.

"Well, if you weren't such an ignorant -" before he was able to finish the sentence, Tamsin punched his torso again. He doubled over in pain.

"Stop insulting Bo and start talking, you worthless waste of oxygen."

"Oh, protective are we?" Tamsin raised her fist again, and he cowered, raising his arms in defeat. "Yes fine whatever -- I was just saying that humans can mask themselves in the scent of skunk fae and often get away with it, because like humans, skunk fae reside mostly on earth and thus have a similar," he gestured absently with his head, "lack of class." Tamsin raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you telling me that in a Dark Fae Military Base there is a human disguised as a skunk fae, slinking around?" She asked, incredulous.

"Well, no one has cared to investigate yet," he grumbled.

"You have just left her?" Bo did not like the sound of this.

"Not quite -- we have someone keeping an eye on her. But I mean, what are we meant to do?"

"The Morrigan wants her! Bring her to the Morrigan!" Bo was incredulous. There must be something wrong with the situation if a city full of dark fae wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.

"It’s a blessing really that you're unalligned," the trickster just said. "Your lack of comprehension for the nuances of politics really astounds me."

"Are you insulting her again?" Tamsin bared her teeth. The young man cowered.

"No, no, no, of course not. Anyway, my blood is red, I gave you everything I know about your idiot: can I go now?" Tamsin frowned and glanced at Bo, eyebrows raised. Bo bit her lip.

"You really don't know where she is?" She asked, letting go of his hands.

"No idea," and he disappeared into thin air. Tamsin sighed, disheartened.

"Well, that was useless." She pocketed the knife carefully: the blood had burnt off, absorbed by the blade as a sacrifice.

"No, no it wasn't." Bo disagreed, falling into step beside her as they left the alley in which they had cornered the young man. "I mean, we did find out what we need to ask around for."

"A skunk fae." Tamsin made a face. "I have never heard of that before," she admitted.

"Neither," Bo agreed.

"Well, let's hope that it's rare enough that if we ask a couple of thugs, we get an answer,” Tamsin sighed. Bo chuckled and laced her arm through hers.

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” she promised.

 

Dyson was prowling around the kitchen, impatient. “Why aren’t they back yet?” He demanded, checking the time. Kenzi sighed loudly.

“Because they left about half an hour ago, Dyson,” she replied, continuing to flick through the channels of television she was getting on her wireless screen. Dark Planets had the networks.

“I hate how we always have to go to Dark Planets,” Dyson moaned, sitting down at the table and tapping his foot impatiently. When Kenzi didn’t answer, he raised his voice. “What am I meant to do now?”

“Stay put with me,” she answered mechanically.

“Well, I can’t. Its infuriating. I’m an _excellent_ tracker, and yet they can’t use me? What kind of cheap trick is that! I’m sure the Dark is behind this.” He jumped up again, pacing the room.

“It isn’t,” Kenzi countered, bored. This monologue was all too familiar to her; every time a mission left Dyson stranded on the ship he would begin hopping and jumping and cursing like some seven year old on a sugar high.

“I think I should go out and find them,” Dyson exclaimed, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair and heading towards the cargo area.

“I think that’s a bad idea,” Kenzi disagreed, grabbing his jacket out of his arms hurriedly. “I think you should stay with me.”

“Kenzi I can’t stay on the ship like some useless spare part,” Dyson begged. Kenzi sighed and looked around wildly, desperate to find a solution for Dyson’s impatience. She glanced out of the window, desperately hoping that she would catch sight of Bo and Tamsin, returning triumphantly. Instead, she saw the glowing lights of a diner at the end of the airfield.

“Fine – I have a solution for you. At the end of the landing bay there is a diner. I’m sure that’s a Place of Sanctuary and we’ll be able to have some coffee and pie there.” She grinned, pleased with her own solution.

 “Coffee and pie?” Dyson was incredulous. “What are we? A group of old ladies?”

“Shut up, Dyson,” Kenzi warned. “I’m hungry for something that _isn’t_ protein for once.”

“Yeah, but pie?” Dyson was not convinced.

“Well, if you are just going to complain you can just stay here…”

“Fine! Let’s go then!” He grabbed his jacket back as Kenzi stood up. He strode ahead, letting Kenzi run out behind him, carefully sealing up all the doors, as was customary when they all left the ship. He was waiting outside, tapping his foot impatiently.

“This plant _reeks_ of the Dark,” he complained as Kenzi fell into step beside him.

“It also just reeks. What kind of swamp country _is this_?!” Kenzi asked, looking around. It was a moist, cold planet in which daylight hours were scarce and darkness and discomfort seemed to sink into ones bones.

“A disgusting one.” Dyson muttered, turning up the collar of his coat. “Let’s go.” Kenzi fell into step next to Dyson as Dyson pulled up his hood to hide his face and they walked down the airfield as quickly as they could. Three ships dotted across the airfield, otherwise it was empty. The military town’s large, echoing emptiness disorientated Dyson. This was not what he had expected when Tamsin had directed them here. He did _not_ like it.

“This diner reminds me of Earth!” Kenzi said with a chuckle as they entered the bright white warmth. The two waitresses, one blonde and one red-head, looked up, surprised.

“We have _another_ skunk fae?” The blonde asked, incredulous. Dyson laughed.

“No, she’s human.”

“Human?” The blonde came on over and gave Kenzi a once over. “I haven’t seen any of your kind step foot on this planet in a good decade or two.”

“Yeah, because it _smells_ ,” Kenzi grumbled.

“It’s a swamp.” The second waitress looked over and smiled nervously, glancing down at the floor when Kenzi tried to catch her eye. “I mean, that’s why it smells,” she added quickly. “Also why there are so many plants.” She hurried over.

“Plants?” Kenzi asked, confused. She slid into a booth – Dyson followed suit, sitting down opposite her.

“The abundance of plants means that terraforming was almost complete by the time the first few fae arrived. They actually had to take some oxygen _out_ of the air. Otherwise we’d all be high on it right now,” the waitress explained, placing down coffee cups in front of them and starting to pour it for them. Kenzi blinked.

“Are you a fan of Atlantis?” She asked, slightly confused. The waitress laughed nervously.

“Not really. I just know science.”

“A useful skill,” Dyson commented. The other waitress, standing behind her, scoffed.

“Not in this joint it ain’t,” she disagreed. Kenzi laughed, sipping her coffee carefully.

“Kenzi! Dyson! What are you doing here?” Bo and Tamsin were standing in the doorway of the diner, incredulous.

“Close the door behind you,” The blonde waitress cautioned, “Otherwise it gets so cold in here.”

“Oh, sorry.” Bo let the door swing closed and joined Dyson and Kenzi at their booth, looking down at them in amazement. “So you’re just sitting here, enjoying coffee like a couple of slackers?”

“Slackers! _Excuse_ you!” Kenzi pulled out her tablet. “I’ve been wading through this dark shit trying to find my regular tv scheduling! That’s hard work you know!” Bo laughed and sat down next to Dyson.

“Well, when you say it like that…” she conceded. Kenzi grinned triumphantly.

“How did your work go?” Dyson asked, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

“Well, the guy was an idiot,” Tamsin sighed.

“What can you expect from an elf?” Bo added. Kenzi made a face.

“Straw between their ears,” she agreed.

“But, he told us we should be on the lookout for a skunk fae. Have you seen any we can ask?” The young ginger waitress came over and set two cups in front of Bo and Tamsin. As she began pouring coffee in both cups, Dyson chuckled.

“You won’t believe this Bo, but this girl is a skunk fae, right?” Dyson grinned at the ginger waitress. Bo looked up, surprised. The young woman smiled demurely, and suddenly Bo placed her.

“Tamsin, _grab her_ ,” she snapped. There was a second, one tiny second in which Lauren realised that she was caught and there was nothing she could do about it. In that second her expression crumbled and Tamsin’s tackles just let her fall to the floor.

“Wait, _she_ was _that_ doctor?!” Kenzi asked, incredulous.

“Yes Kenzi. She was. I _really_ think the nerd talk gave it away,” Bo replied. Kenzi just stared at her.

“But she’s so…harmless!” Tamsin hoisted the good doctor up up, arms tied behind her back. Bo stepped forward and carefully caressed the bruise blooming on Lauren’s cheek.

“I think looks can be deceiving, Kenzi,” she replied. Lauren just tilted her head and smiled, though the smile was dead and didn’t touch her eyes. Bo didn’t turn away.


End file.
